Former President George H.W. Bush wrote a letter to President-elect Donald Trump wishing him the best, but said attending his inauguration would likely do more harm to his health than good.
“Barbara and I are so sorry we can’t be there for your Inauguration on January 20th,” Mr. Bush wrote in the letter dated Jan. 10. “My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.”
Mr. Bush, the oldest living president at 92 years old, was hospitalized this weekend in Texas for shortness of breath, his spokesman said. He remained in the hospital Wednesday.
Bush, who served as U.S. president from 1989 to 1993, has a form of Parkinson's disease and uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility.
He was hospitalized in Maine in 2015 after falling at his summer home and breaking a bone in his neck, and was hospitalized in Houston the previous December for about a week for shortness of breath. He spent Christmas 2012 in intensive care for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.
“ will be with you and the country in spirit,” Bush wrote to Trump. “I want you to know that I wish you the very best as you begin this incredible journey of leading our great country. If I can ever be of help, please let me know.”
Last fall, Bush told the daughter of Robert Kennedy that he was planning on voting for Hillary Clinton instead of Trump, Politico reported. His spokesman later said Mr. Bush voted as a private citizen.
Bush usually summers in Kennebunkport from May to October.

PORTLAND, Maine —

Former President George H.W. Bush wrote a letter to President-elect Donald Trump wishing him the best, but said attending his inauguration would likely do more harm to his health than good.

“Barbara and I are so sorry we can’t be there for your Inauguration on January 20th,” Mr. Bush wrote in the letter dated Jan. 10. “My doctor says if I sit outside in January, it likely will put me six feet under. Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas.”

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Mr. Bush, the oldest living president at 92 years old, was hospitalized this weekend in Texas for shortness of breath, his spokesman said. He remained in the hospital Wednesday.

Bush, who served as U.S. president from 1989 to 1993, has a form of Parkinson's disease and uses a motorized scooter or a wheelchair for mobility.

He was hospitalized in Maine in 2015 after falling at his summer home and breaking a bone in his neck, and was hospitalized in Houston the previous December for about a week for shortness of breath. He spent Christmas 2012 in intensive care for a bronchitis-related cough and other issues.

“[We] will be with you and the country in spirit,” Bush wrote to Trump. “I want you to know that I wish you the very best as you begin this incredible journey of leading our great country. If I can ever be of help, please let me know.”

Last fall, Bush told the daughter of Robert Kennedy that he was planning on voting for Hillary Clinton instead of Trump, Politico reported. His spokesman later said Mr. Bush voted as a private citizen.